Power Rangers: Last Engage 3: Rotation: By Another Name
by rylansato
Summary: Will lands in Colorado, contrary to where he first thought he was sent. His relief is short lived as he realizes he's in a small Colorado town the day before a tragedy happens. He also encounters the real culprit behind the tragedy. Not only is he limited on time but he has to stop the creature as well as the two hormonal sociopaths.
1. Chapter 1

POWER RANGERS: LAST ENGAGE: ROTATION: BY ANOTHER NAME

1

Will awoke in a bed. Remembering what happened and feeling as though his life was in danger, he shot upright. He was in a hospital's ER. He saw a few people he recognized from his encounter earlier sitting on the far side of the room. They stood up once they realized he was conscious. Will reached for his morpher. He didn't care if they were armed or not. He was going to end them now.

"It's morph…"

A nurse came into the room. Will stopped himself as he took the moment to take everything in. Everything looked modern compared to what he saw earlier. She walked over to check his vitals. He decided it would be best not to beat the hell out of everyone in front of her. They were lucky she walked in. He was ready to have them meet the business end of his Power Axe.

"You seem pretty awake for someone who just regained consciousness," the nurse said. "Just relax as we take care of you."

None of this made any sense to Will. He somewhat relaxed as the people stepped toward him but he still had his fists clenched.

"Thank God you're awake," a man said. Will was confused as this guy was one of the ones that assaulted him earlier.

"First," one guy said. "Let us apologize for what happened earlier."

"I'm terribly sorry I hit you, which landed you in the hospital."

"You're lucky you did that," Will said. "Otherwise, it'd be you here instead of me."

"We thought you were someone else," the man said.

"You do that to any black folk you see?" Will asked.

"We thought you were an extra," he said. "A black guy was starting today as an extra and we thought you were him."

"An extra?"

"You seem to have stumbled on our reenactment land," another guy said. "We created an area solely for the purpose of civil war era reenactments."

Will began to relax more. While he didn't know what had happened when he was ambushed, he was relieved to know that he wasn't in the southern states during the civil war.

"We were going to toy with the new guy for a bit by being in character just to show him how things are. We realized you weren't him when you attacked us."

"Then why did you hit me?" Will asked.

"It was the only thing I could think to do," the man said. "You appeared to be a threat and we had to stop you. You looked pretty strong and could probably take all of us out so a quick whack to the back of the head seemed like the easiest choice."

"Well I can understand that I suppose," Will said. He looked around and while things looked modern, there was a dated aura about things. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but the style of clothes, hair style, technology of the hospital equipment didn't seem to be 21st century. It was almost there but not quite. It seemed maybe 20 or 25 years in the past.

"So, where are you from?" one guy asked.

"Ohio," Will said.

"Ohio?" the guy said in surprise. "You're a bit far from home. What are you doing in Colorado?"

Will did his best to hide his surprise. He was transported somewhere but when was the question now.

"Family is thinking of moving out this way," Will said. "Mom doesn't like the bipolar weather in Ohio."

"Bipolar is a good way to describe the weather in the east," the man said. "Never did like it myself. So, if you move into the area then you'll be going to the high school." The man pointed to the window and Will followed the motion. He could see a flat building in the distance on the other side of a lake. "That's my alma mater. I graduated from Columbine fifteen years ago. This year's class is the last class of the 20th century."

Even with a head injury, Will knew immediately when and where he was. That high school had become infamous after the massacre that occurred there. Will looked at the dry erase board on the wall that had the assigned nurse's name and the date. It was April 19th. One day before the massacre.

2

Hours later, Will was finally out of the hospital and those that had put him in there had also left. While he was thankful he wasn't in slavery south, he wasn't sure how to feel about winding up in Columbine, Colorado a day before the shooting. He stood in front of the school that had now let out for the day and stared at it. Another thought entered his mind. Should he stop the massacre or should he let history play out.

"You're not supposed to be here but yet here you are," a voice said behind him. Will spun around to see a figure standing among the trees across the street. The figure was oddly dressed. He wore a suit but a headpiece that looked Egyptian. "You're probably wondering if you should change history, right?"

"Who are you?" Will demanded.

"I used to call myself 'The Riddler' but then that Batman series aired and I had to drop that name. Now I don't even bother with a name. My given name is Dora-Sphinx."

"So, you're one of Bandora's creatures sent back in time to take me out," Will said.

"You're half right," the man said. "I am one of Bandora's creatures but I wasn't sent back in time."

"Then how do you know I'm not from this time?" Will asked.

"Because I transcend time," the man said. "I exist in this time as I do in any other time. I know what will happen at that school tomorrow as I know what will happen in New York in two years from now."

Will wasn't sure what to make of this creature. He didn't appear menacing but there was something malevolent about him.

"What will happen if I change history?" Will asked.

"Messing with time is not something that should be taken lightly," the man said. "But I don't think I can allow you to change it."

"Why not?" Will asked.

"Well partly because tomorrow's events are my doing," he said. Will's eyes widened. Will reached for his morpher and pulled it from his belt.

"It's morphin…"

"You misunderstand," the man said. "I'm not the one that's doing the shooting tomorrow. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold will be the ones marching in there with guns blazing. However, it was I that has been messing with their heads for some time now."

"Why?"

"They got one of my riddles wrong," the man said nonchalantly.

"Wait, what?" Will asked.

"I told you my given name is Dora-Sphinx. Underneath my human disguise is my sphinx form. If you know your mythology then you'd know that sphinxs give riddles."

"You are severely fucked in the head," Will said. He held his morpher in front of him. "IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!"


	2. Chapter 2

Will jumped into the air, bringing out his power ax. Dora-Sphinx spun around and revealed his sphinx form. Will brought down his ax and the sphinx blocked it with his staff. Will spun around hoping to nail him with a roundhouse kick. The sphinx leaned back to avoid the attack. Their weapons clashed more.

"Riddle me this, Black Ranger," the Sphinx said. "When you need me, you toss me away. When you're done, you bring me back. What am I?"

"I'm not playing your games," Will said.

"I'm not asking you to play games. I want you to answer my riddles. If you don't, I'll beat you up and down the street. The only way to beat me is to answer my riddles. So what am I?"

"I don't know," Will said. The sphinx looked disappointed.

"An anchor, dumbass." The sphinx knocked Will's arms upward and whacked him in the chest with his staff. Sparks erupted, knocking Will backward.

"I'm a math and science type of guy," Will said. "Not literature."

"That sucks for you then," Sphinx said. "I stay in a corner but a travel around the world. What am I?"

Will attacked again but couldn't land a single blow. The sphinx either dodged or blocked his attacks.

"I don't know," Will said. "A box in the corner of the plane?" The sphinx was disappointed again.

"Wrong again, Black Ranger." He hit Will again with his staff, resulting in Will to be thrown to the ground. "Think outside the box. The answer is a stamp. You know? The corner of an envelope?"

"I'd much rather beat your ass right now without the riddles," Will said.

"It can't be so straight forward," the sphinx said. "You have to learn to adapt to the situation, or you will lose. Now, what was the largest island before Australia was discovered?"

Will flipped his ax around to its blaster mode. "Well, Australia. It was still there just undiscovered." The sphinx widened his eyes.

"Nice j…" The sphinx was knocked back by the Power Ax's laser blasts. He flipped it back around to its ax mode before sprinting in to attack. He got in one strike before the sphinx was able to block the rest. "You surprised me."

"I can do much more than that," Will said. He came in with another attack that was blocked by the staff. They held the position for a moment before Will kicked the sphinx in the chest. The blow caused the sphinx to stumble back. It didn't cause as much damage as Will would have liked.

Will leapt backward to give himself some space from the sphinx. He needed to catch the sphinx off guard somehow. It seemed to be very good at reading attacks and the only time he's been able to land hits on it was after answering riddles correctly. He wondered if it was because its focus faltered when he answered correctly or if his own focus faltered after getting an answer wrong. Could that part be all in his head. There didn't seem to be any real trick to it.

The sphinx looked ready to attack again. Will cocked his arm back and launched his power ax at his opponent. The sphinx easily dodged the simple attack. Will pulled his arm back and the sphinx realized what had happened a little too late. He turned around just as the ax's blade struck him.

The sphinx shot to his feet, aiming his staff at Will. Energy bolts lashed out from its tip in rapid succession. Will dove to avoid getting hit as small explosions erupted around him. He threw his ax again and the sphinx dodged again by ducking. The ax was stuck in the tree behind the sphinx.

"Your trick isn't going to work again," it said as he fired more energy bolts at Will. Will ran around to avoid the blasts and darted behind another tree. He pulled out his Blade Blaster, extending its blade. He sprinted toward the sphinx, who was firing more energy bolts.

Suddenly, the sphinx was struck in the back by an energy blast. The force sent him flying toward Will, who took a swipe across the sphinx's face with his blade blaster. Will then spun around and kicked the sphinx out into the street. The sphinx stood up dazed from the attacked. At first he didn't know where the other blast came from but then remembered the ranger's ax also acted as a blaster.

"You're more clever than I give you credit," it said. "Attaching a wire to your ax and using it to fly back at me with the first attack was good but making me think you were doing the same attack when I reality you were trying to keep my focus on you while you used another tree as a pulley to pull the trigger of your ax and shoot me in the back was even better. That was nice."

Will wielded his ax once more and charged again. Their weapons clashed, causing sparks to fly with each point of impact. Will hooked the staff with the lower tip of his blade and pushed it down. With his free hand, he punched the sphinx in the face until dropped his staff and jumped back to give itself some distance. Will kicked the staff away. He flipped his ax to its blaster mode and fired at the sphinx.

The sphinx started to flap its wings viciously. The wind became so strong that it pushed back the energy bolts and sent them back at Will. Will was knocked back and was on the ground. He started to stand up but was kicked by the sphinx who had now recovered his staff. It was raised its staff and was going to strike another blow. He brought the weapon down hard and fast but it was suddenly stopped by another staff.

This other staff belonged to a silver power ranger with orange and black accents with red emergency lights on the shoulders. The ranger battled the sphinx back to give Will some room to get to his feet. Five other rangers ran up to Will. The team consisted of a red, blue, black, yellow and pink ranger as well as the silver one fighting the sphinx. Their core colors ran down the sides of their uniforms and white ran down the middle of their torso and on the insides of their legs. They had a logo on their chest that Will assumed to be a compass.

"Seven on one isn't entirely fair," the sphinx said. "But I guess I'll disappear into the night."

"It's daytime, dumbass," Will said.

"That's because 'disappearing into the day' doesn't sound as cool or make any sense, dumbass," the sphinx said.

Will took aim at the sphinx with his ax but the creature just popped out of existence. Will let out a huff before lowering his weapon. The other rangers surrounded him.

"Are you okay?" the red ranger asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," Will said. "Thanks for the assist."

"We didn't know there were other rangers in the area," the blue ranger said.

"There's not supposed to be. I'm from an Ohio team and some how I ended up here in the past."

"How much further in the past?" the red ranger asked.

"Eighteen years," Will said. "What team are you anyway?"

"We're the Expedition Rangers," the blue ranger said. "Black here, wanted us to be called Operation Overdrive but we are more like explorers looking for certain powerful artifacts than anything related to driving. What about you?"

"My team doesn't have a name," Will said. "Our motif is legendary animals but we were just formed not too long before I ended up here. Which I need to say that tomorrow, two kids are going to shoot up that school and the sphinx we just fought is behind it."

"All right," the red ranger said. "How can we help?"


	3. Chapter 3

Will stood against the wall with his arms crossed in the mobile command center of the Expedition Rangers. He wondered if this was part of a zord or just an extra vehicle. The other rangers were positioned at various spots.

"The sphinx said he existed outside of time," Will said. "He also likes to sling riddles and it just so happens that if you get it wrong, he's able to hit you and if you get it right then you can hit him. But I was able to land some hits without dealing with the stupid riddles."

"It sounds like the riddles are nothing more than a distraction and it backfires on him if you get it right," the pink ranger said.

"He doesn't seem to be too powerful," the silver ranger said. "He bolted as soon as we arrived. The seven of us could easily take him down."

"You mentioned a shooting will take place tomorrow," the red ranger said. "Is that supposed to happen?"

"I don't think so," Will said.

"You don't think so?" the pink ranger asked. "Well, did it happen or not?"

"It did but I'm not convinced that it was supposed to," Will said. "He said the two shooters are under his influence. I'm not sure how much though. I don't know if he put them under a spell or if he just gave them the idea."

"How would two teenagers shoot up a school just by having someone slip them an idea?" the black ranger asked.

"From my understanding, they were already messed up in the head and he just gave them the push they needed," Will said.

"Stopping the sphinx is no problem," the blue ranger said. "I don't think it's a good idea to try and change the future by stopping this shooting."

"Normally, I'd agree with you," Will said. "But if that wasn't supposed to originally happen then we need to stop the sphinx."

"But you come from a future where this event occurred," the blue ranger said. "then we can't say for sure if the alternate future would be better or worse."

"But we would be saving innocent lives," the pink ranger said.

"But we don't know how big of an impact those lives will have," the yellow ranger said. "They could be minor or they could majorly impact the future in a positive or negative way. If this ranger's future is so messed up like Days of Future Past messed up then I'd be all for it."

"It's not the greatest," Will said. "But it's good enough. I still don't feel comfortable standing by and doing nothing while kids are gunned down. That's not what we do. We are supposed to protect people no matter what."

"What about the future?" the black ranger asked. Will stared at him, one black ranger to another. He understood what he was saying but at this point, he felt he had to do something to save as many lives as he could regardless of the future.

"When does the shooting occur?" Pink asked.

"Tomorrow," Will said. "I think around lunchtime. The Sphinx also said that changing time isn't something that should be taken lightly."

"Well, I guess we can try and see how things play out if we try to stop them," Yellow said. "What's the worse that could happen?"

"Almost twenty years of history can be altered," Red said. "It doesn't matter whether one life is saved or all of them. One life can make all the difference. What's the future like in terms of how this event is handled?"

"Well," Will said. "It sparked the constant gun debates whether or not to ban all guns. Shootings have become commonplace in my time. Despite how the media portrays everything, it's not a bad place."

"Then why should we interfere?" Red asked. "It is possible that the future could be a lot better after saving those lost but it could also be worse."

"But is it really supposed to be this way?" Will asked. "The Sphinx said he has influenced them so maybe it's not supposed to happen."

"But what if he just told you that just to screw with you?" Black asked.

"He didn't seem like the type," Will said. "What would he have to gain by telling me he was the cause of the Columbine shooting?"

"If you stop it," Blue said. "Then the timeline will be changed and possibly not in our favor. If he exists out of time then he'd know how things would turn out if this event was changed."

"I agree," Red said. "We can't take the risk of changing things. If we change things then many more could die than those lost here."

Will paced in frustration before slamming his fist against the wall. "This is bullshit. I can't just sit here and do nothing."

"I didn't say that," Red said. "We can still fight the sphinx."

"How do we lure him out?" Pink asked.

"Let's show up here as though we're going to stop the shooting," Blue said. "Then when he shows up we can turn our attention to him."

"It's going to be hard as hell to not allow myself to try and help the kids," Will said.


End file.
